Encouragement for Today - Apr. 8, 2008

 

April 8, 2008

 

April Showers

Susanne Scheppmann

 

“When they walk through the Valley of Weeping, it will become a place of refreshing springs, where pools of blessing collect after the rains!” Psalm 84:6 (NLT)

 

Devotion:

I gaped at the water pouring down through the vents in the ceiling. A surreal feeling overtook me. I momentarily couldn’t move. However, after a moment, I began to wade through the icy water, crying out in dismay, “Oh, no! Oh, no!”

 

Apparently, a pipe had frozen and split during a recent cold snap. Then, when the warm weather brought a springtime thaw, I received April-like showers inside my home. As I walked upstairs in a panic to call a restoration service, I spotted my plaque that reads, “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain.” I took it as a challenge. Would I choose to “dance” in my “rain”?

 

Many of my friends would trade my “rains” for their Valley of Weeping. Their lives hold divorce, illness, death---myriads of places of sorrows. God doesn’t promise us a trouble- free life, but He does say that Valleys of Weeping will eventually become pools of blessing. We choose our attitudes. We can decide to trust Him during the difficult seasons or we can bury ourselves in bitter self-pity.

 

Although the pain of life may linger, the Lord will lead us out of the Valley of Weeping. Let’s take to heart Psalm 27:14, “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord” (NIV).

I recall the lines from a childhood poem, “April showers bring May flowers.” Hopefully, after everything in my basement is cleaned up and restored, I won’t discover any flowers growing in the carpet. But, I will look for those pools of blessing that the Lord will provide through this mishap.

 

Dear Lord, life is hard sometimes. Walk me through the Valley of Weeping. Keep my heart focused on You and the blessings You provide. Open my eyes to the pools of blessing that You supply. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 

Related Resources:

Do You Know Jesus?

 

P31 Woman magazine

 

Visit Susanne Schepmann’s blog

 

Perplexing Proverbs for Women Bible study by Susanne Scheppman

 

Application Steps: 

Read Psalm 84. Journal your thoughts on each verse and how it applies to your life. Memorize Psalm 84:12, “O Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you.” (NIV)

Reflections: 

Do I dance with God through the storms of life?

 

How can I encourage someone who is going through a Valley of Weeping?

 

What “pools of blessing” have I discovered after going through a difficult time?

 

Power Verses:

Psalm 135:7, “He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth; he sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses.” (NIV)

 

Isaiah 55:12, “You will live in joy and peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands!” (NLT)

 

Matthew 5:45b, “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (NIV)

 

 

© 2008 by Susanne Scheppmann. All rights reserved.

 

Proverbs 31 Ministries

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